1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the production of 2,3-dimethylbutenes from 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane through dehydrochlorination.
2. Description of the Related Art
2,3-Dimethylbutenes, that is, 2,3-dimethyl-1-butene and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, have been known as raw materials for medicine, agricultural chemicals, perfume and so on.
It is also known that 2,3-dimethylbutenes can be obtained by the dehydrochlorination of 1-chloro-3,3-dimethylbutane in a gas phase in the presence of a catalyst such as silica or alumina (U.S. Pat. No. 2404927) or in a liquid phase in the presence of an alumina catalyst (U.S. Pat. No. 3445538).
However, the known methods have many problems of a low conversion rate or yield, of formation of a large amount of by-products such as methylpentenes, and of unsatisfactory selectivity of the desired product.